10 Good reasons to buy in QLD

It is a great time to buy in Queensland & especially in Brisbane. And there are ten reasons why:

1. Queensland’s population growth increased by 75,000 last year – up 50% or 25,000 on 2010’s 50,000 annual increase. History shows that Queensland attracts a third of Australia’s annual population growth.

2. According to the ABS employment figures, 30,000 new jobs have been created in Queensland since late last year & more than half of these were in Brisbane.

3. Based on last year’s statistics, Queensland looks to be heading towards a massive undersupply, with 33,000 new dwellings needed during 2012, yet just 26,000 supplied – an undersupply to the tune of about 20%. The inner Brisbane apartment market is also undersupplied & in this case by as much as 40%. There is a need to build 2,650 new apartments across inner Brisbane every year, but just 1,600 new properties have been delivered (each year) since 2006.

4. The Brisbane vacancy rate is currently 1.9% & whilst rental growth has slowed down, median rents still rose across much of the state last year. Importantly, rental properties are showing good rental returns, averaging 5.5% gross.

6. Official statistics show that new property prices across Brisbane have already risen by 4.9% during 2012, which is strong against the national average increase of just 1.4%.

7. There has been a 6% drop in the number of properties listed for sale across Brisbane during 2012. Resale supply is starting to tighten.

8. In addition, there has been a 10% increase in the number of settled sales across the south-east corner of Queensland over the last twelve months. Overall properties are now selling faster than new ones are being listed.

9. Whilst Brisbane isn’t an auction city, but when comparing Brisbane auction results so far this year, against those from early 2012, there has been a 56% increase in the number of properties sold at auction. There are increasingly bigger crowds at auctions & better results on the day.

10. Finally, Brisbane is now quite affordable, being the third most affordable major urban place in Australia. And this is one reason why Queensland’s population growth is increasing again.